The ‘22 Pauillac (Grand Cru Classé).

Pichon Comtesse's 2022 Pauillac, grown on gravel-over-clay soils near the Gironde, entered its estimated drinking window in 2026, the same year Wine Spectator called this Bordeaux vintage a 'new paradigm.'

Tasting note

Cellared could not independently verify a published critic tasting note for this specific 2022 bottling, so this reflects general Pauillac character rather than a review of this exact wine. The estate's own site describes its gravel-rise plots as producing Cabernet Sauvignon with 'fine, silky, delicate tannins,' the variety that leads the blend here, while its sandier plots give Merlot 'elegant, well-balanced' wines that round out the structure. At only four years past harvest, expect a wine still built more around structure and dark fruit than the settled complexity a decade of bottle age would bring, in line with how young the wine still is by Cellared's own drinking-window estimate.

The 2022 vintage

Wine Spectator called 2022 a 'new paradigm' for Bordeaux, rating the Left Bank vintage 95 points, Classic: the season ran very warm and dry from the start and stayed that way through harvest, with only the rains needed in June and August. The vintage's reds showed fleshy fruit with fresh, pure aromas, rather than the raisined character a hot, dry year can sometimes produce, and by Wine Spectator's own account it proved more consistent than the 2018 to 2020 run of vintages. Pichon Comtesse's own site describes its ground as light, well-drained gravel over clay, terrain that let old vines ripen evenly through a dry summer rather than stress under prolonged heat.

About Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande farms 102 hectares in southern Pauillac, close enough to the Gironde Estuary that, according to the estate's own site, the river itself has historically offered the vines some natural protection from spring frost. The property's own description splits its more than 100 plots by soil: Cabernet Sauvignon on gravel rises, Merlot on sandier ground, Cabernet Franc where clay runs higher, and Petit Verdot on sandy-gravel below the rises. Cellared has no independently sourced producer-reputation figure on file for this estate, so no collectibility or prestige score appears here.

From the cellar: pair with

Herb-crusted rack of lamb

The wine's structured, still-firm tannin needs lamb's fat to soften against, a classic match for Pauillac's Cabernet-led wines this age.

Venison with a blackberry reduction

Leaner venison lets the wine's tannin lead without competing fat, while a fruit-based reduction picks up the wine's own dark-berry character.

Aged alpine cheese

A firm, aged cheese matches the wine's structure at this early, pre-peak stage without the fruit getting lost against something too delicate.

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Frequently Asked

Is it risky to serve this at a dinner where guests expect a fully mature Bordeaux?

It might show more tannin and less resolved fruit than an older vintage would. Since the estimated window only opened this year, decanting for a couple of hours helps, but guests expecting the softness of a decade-plus-old Pauillac should know this one is still young by Cellared's own model.

Is there a published critic score for this specific 2022 bottling?

Not one Cellared could independently confirm through a fetched, allowlisted source. Wine Spectator's own vintage chart covers the 2022 Left Bank broadly at 95 points, but that's a regional vintage score, not a score for this specific wine.

What's the estate's exact blend for this vintage?

Cellared could not independently confirm the exact percentages for the 2022 blend. The estate's own site names Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot as its core varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon typically leading, but no verified vintage-specific ratio is stated here.

How did the estate's gravel soil help in such a dry vintage?

The estate's own site describes its ground as light, well-drained gravel over clay; that kind of soil drains fast in wet weather but also lets old-vine roots reach moisture well below the surface, which is why plantings on it tend to hold up through a vintage's driest stretch better than shallower or wetter ground.